Title
Calculation of additional profits of sectors and firms from the EU ETS
Author(s)
Sander de Bruyn, Ellen Schep, Sofia Cherif
Organisation
Year
March 2016
Type
Report
Length
82 p.
Keywords
Free allowances, Windfall profits

Summary

This study has calculated the additional profits that sectors and companies have made from the EU ETS from 2008 to 2014, distinguishing between three types of profits:

  • Profits from overallocation of free emission allowances. In many sectors/countries, free allowances have been granted in excess of verified emissions, allowing industries to generate additional profits by selling this surplus in the market.
  • Profits from using CDM/JI credits for compliance. Companies were entitled to a certain extent to use cheaper CDM/JI credits for compliance. This has created additional profits since many companies have used these credits for compliance and sold the saved freely obtained allowances on the ETS market.
  • Profits from passing through the opportunity costs of freely obtained allowances. There is ample empirical evidence that companies have been able to pass through (part of) the carbon costs in product prices. Although the allowances were granted free of charge, the majority of sectors were thus able to pass through the opportunity costs of these allowances in product prices, thus making so-called windfall profits.
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